Does the author of a book really have no say in the published title?

Not usually.

Why would a publisher be so insistent on this particular form of words?

Because they think they can sell more that way.

In some genres, the publisher even gets to decide the author's name. Desmond Bagley had to fight to keep his own name when his publisher thought it would result in his books being stuck inconspicuously at the top left of the shelves.